User blog:Thantosiet/My Impossible Mermaid Show
Ever since I discovered mermaid shows on YouTube, I've had ideas rattling around in my head for one of my own. Some I've actually pitched to other people when they asked for ideas, and who knows, maybe they'll work out. Part of what draws me to mermaid shows is how anyone ''could make one. You don't need a big budget, just a camera and a little ingenuity. Of course, since my brain has a way of completely transforming anything that enters it, I've come up with a complicated, effects-heavy, crossover-filled series idea, but it's just too tantalizing for me to ignore. Kamen Rider MER The MER (Marine Evolutionary Research) Foundation, a shady scientific organization, has discovered that mermaids are real. It's been quietly researching them across the globe, intending to use the mermaids' powers to bring all of mankind to "the next level"--through whatever means necessary. The mermaids themselves have become an obstacle, what with their various powers and magical spells to protect themselves. To combat this, MER creates their own mermaid, one capable of fighting and capturing the others. However, some members of the organization, feeling guilty, help the mermaid escape, giving her a special belt called the Trident Driver to help her. Now she travels the world, tracking MER operatives and protecting other mermaids as Kamen Rider MER. Characters The experiments have altered the Rider's memory (not exactly amnesia, she just can't tell what was or wasn't real), so she carries a book around, recording everything that happens to her to keep from forgetting. She also doesn't remember her name, and on a whim names herself Scherenazade. In order to contrast with existing mermaids (who are generally nice and friendly), Scherenazade will be snarky, even rude, and somewhat heartless, rarely opening up to anyone. Saving other mermaids is a duty, not a hobby. Over time, she may soften through exposure to the people she's trying to protect, but it won't be a smooth journey. The primary villain is Director J. Kelson, the woman in charge of MER. She has a fixation with second chances--finding things that other people have given up on and thrown out, and trying to find some new use for them. Of course, if the thing turns out to be worthless, she'll throw it away. She treats people the same way. Partway through her journey, Scherenazade encounters a new villain called the Hunter, who wants to turn all mermaids back to normal even if it kills them. (I actually came up with this character back when I named my YouTube channel, as a possible way to review mermaid shows.) Unlike Director Kelson, the Hunter isn't emotionless--she's furious. She hates mermaids, though she refuses to say why. Her berserk button is mermaids using their powers to "punish" others, which may have something to do with it. Wait, What? For those who don't know (probably everyone who'll ever see this blog post), Kamen Rider is a long, long, long-running Japanese kids' show about guys known as Kamen (or "Masked") Riders, who use belts to transform into armored heroes and fight monsters. Since I made a point of picking on others' titles recently, I think I'd better justify mine. ''Kamen Rider capital letters here is how most of the series (and heroes) are titled. I came up with the MER acronym for the organization to sound mermaidy without being too obvious, so it seemed right to call hero and show that as well. Riders also get upgrade modes, which have different colors and motifs for their suits. Scherenazade's will be based on traditional mermaid superpowers--fire, water, ice, moonlight (which makes her go berserk the first few times she uses it) and so on. As I finish my concept art I'll post it here. Why? Even though I've only seen Kamen Rider W ''and most of ''Kamen Rider OOO, it's my favorite show, so this would merge two things I love. Also, since it's been running since the early seventies, my inevitably low-budget effects could be nostalgic, or even a homage (like the premise). For the mermaid side, I've always liked shows that try something different, use their creators' unique interests and talents. I've got an orange belt in karate, which is admittedly pretty low, but I think I could choreograph some decent fights. The superhero element might also get some of my non-mermaid-fan siblings interested enough to help. This is where it gets ''really ''insane. This setup is practically begging for crossovers. Lots of crossovers. The MER Foundation are the main bad guys because nearly every show I've found features at least one episode about evil scientists who want to expose or experiment on the characters. Since I'm not very mobile or tech-savvy, these crossovers would probably be filmed pretending we're all in the same location, like when one actor plays multiple characters on a normal show. Maybe we'd also come up with a monster/villain we could both make, and have both our good guys interact with that. On the other hand, a lot of mermaid shows include offscreen characters, like past mermaids, which would be much easier for me to handle. Reality Steps In It's been a while since anyone's tried uploading a video from one of our cameras, but I'm not sure we can yet. Even if I work up the courage to ask my siblings, they might be busy. Even in summer, I'll still have online college coursework to do. And of course there are the logistics of the crossovers, the fight scenes, the costuming, and so on. More practically, I could just write the series as prose, or even a webcomic to make it more visual (though it should be noted that "I'm making it a webcomic" means I'll draw a few panels and then forget the whole thing). Or maybe I could take the middle path and make it just heavily illustrated. It wouldn't be a show, nor could it work as episodes for the shows I cross over with, but I'd have much more freedom. That might also work as a transitionary step between concept and show--it would help me cement the story, even the camerawork, before I shot anything. I think I'll let it sit for a while. Most of my ideas need time to percolate before they're any good. Think I'll treat this like my last major mermaid show idea: if I can write 10 scripts, I'll seriously think about it. MER.jpg|Trident (Basic Form) MER Cryo.jpg|Cryo MER Pyro.png|Pyro MER Hydro.jpg|MER Hydro Category:Blog posts